Energy security possible for American industry

By boosting savings and efficiency, firms can reshape policy

By Dan Akerson |
March 6, 2013
| Updated: March 6, 2013 7:41pm

The energy outlook in the United States today reminds me of a famous quote from the late author and playwright Larry L. King who said, "For a few precious moments, I am back in old Texas, under a high sky, where all things are again possible and the wind blows free."

Unexpectedly, the United States is on the cusp of achieving energy security for the first time in more than a generation due in large part to the revolution in oil and gas production that's playing out in Texas and across the country. It will truly make "all things possible," including cleaner air and low budget deficits, if we play our cards right.

The opportunity before us is huge. Indeed, the U.S. Energy Information Agency reports that the United States could become a net exporter of natural gas by 2020 and net imports of energy could be cut roughly in half on a percentage basis by 2035.

In addition, Dr. Daniel Yergin of IHS, Inc. reports that the unconventional oil and gas industry could directly and indirectly employ 3 million people by 2020 and deliver $113 billion in annual federal and state tax revenues.

The question now is what should the public and private sectors do to ensure that this extraordinary dividend is fully realized and rewards generations to come?

Every sector of the economy has a role to play, including the auto industry, which accounts for about 60 percent of total transportation energy usage in the United States.

General Motors will meet its obligation by deploying technologies that will satisfy customers and make an enormous contribution to energy security at the same time.

First, we will reduce vehicle mass by up to 15 percent using efficient engineering and advanced materials like nanosteel, carbon fiber, aluminum and high-strength steel.

Next, we will deploy natural gas and clean diesel engines where they make business sense. For example, we will launch a new B20-ready Chevrolet Cruze diesel this year and we recently expanded our LNG and CNG portfolio to include ¾-ton bi-fuel pickups and dedicated CNG-powered vans.

We are also improving the efficiency of our gasoline engines using a suite of fuel-saving technologies, which means the death of the V-8 engine has been greatly exaggerated. That is certainly good news for Corvette and GM pickup fans.

Finally, the trend of using electricity to improve performance and fuel economy is going to grow rapidly. In fact, GM expects to have an estimated 500,000 vehicles on the road with some form of electrification by 2017.

So what does all of this mean for energy security? GM's commitment will save an estimated 12 billion gallons of fuel over the life of the vehicles we build between 2011 and 2017. That's 675 million barrels of oil we won't need - a figure nearly equal to our oil imports from the Persian Gulf in 2011.

Everywhere you look there are opportunities to seize the energy high ground. Indeed, our leaders have been presented with an historic opportunity to create a national energy policy from a position of strength and abundance.

How then should the country proceed? I believe the President should immediately appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission to develop a 30-year energy policy framework with checkpoints every five years.

The pillars of such a plan must include energy diversity, so we do not become dependent on any one fuel or energy source.

Energy efficiency must remain a core component so we can absorb the impact of prosperity and population growth.

And we must continue to make meaningful investments in nascent technologies to drive CO2 emissions even lower.

The commission itself needs to include a broad cross-section of energy producers and consumers, and they should be given a straightforward charge: Develop a plan to improve our standard of living.

We are making progress on some of these fronts. But imagine what could be accomplished if the oil, gas and mining industries, renewable energy companies, utilities, labor groups and producers of consumer durable goods like GM worked together to create our first sustainable consumer-driven energy policy?

It would give us the freedom to focus on the needs of customers and the planet "under a high sky... where all things are again possible... and the wind blows free."